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The water on the Moon is really there and could be more accessible than expected: the tipping point for future human missions comes from two studies published in Nature. The first, coordinated by NASA, demonstrates the unequivocal discovery of the ‘signature’ of the water molecule (H20), detected for the first time on the Moon by the Sofia flying telescope, an acronym for Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy born in collaboration with the German space agency. In the second study, however, a group of researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder suggests that there are many surprising reservoirs of water on the Moon. Although they measure more or less 1 centimeter, they are so many that they can guarantee “moon showers” for everyone. “In some cases – says Paul Hayne of the Laboratory for Atmospheric Space Physics at the University of Colorado at Boulder – these little patches of ice could exist in pockets no bigger than a coin.”
Man on the moon
A discovery that constitutes a great step forward in the face of the return of human beings to the Moon, planned with the Artemis missions from 2024, because it will be possible to use the water that is there instead of bringing it from Earth. The announcement was made during a live broadcast event around the world and was anticipated by a tweet from US space agency No.1 Jim Bridenstine. “We first confirm water on the surface of the sunlit moon using the Sofia telescope – wrote Bridenstine – We don’t know yet if we can use it as a resource, but knowing the water on the moon is key to our exploration plans. for Artemis missions. “
Previous studies
It is not the first time that we talk about water on the Moon. Other investigations indicated its presence especially near the South Pole, but it was not yet clear, due to instrumentation problems, whether it was a water molecule H2O or a drossyl (OH) bound to minerals. Sofía dispelled these doubts by analyzing the spectrum of the lunar surface at a wavelength of 6 nanometers. At these ‘distances’ water can no longer be confused with anything else. “Having seen the spectral signature of the water molecule is a great step forward, because it finally allows us to solve a question that has been open for years”, comments Enrico Flamini, president of the International Research School in Planetary Sciences (IRSPS) of the University of Chieti-Pescara. Water is present in abundance in the southernmost latitudes of the satellite (about 100 to 400 parts per million), probably sequestered in glassy or rocky matrices. “This tells us that the Moon could be less arid than expected – Flamini adds – but it is not yet possible to establish how much water there is and how much is usable: this discovery will certainly help us to better plan future missions.”
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